Merge Records

Lambchop

Lambchop
OH (ohio) (2008) continued the Lambchop tradition of releasing challenging, mold-breaking records, revealing endless charms and nuances with their customary modesty. Each Lambchop record represents a new stage in the evolution of their distinctive sound. Damaged saw Lambchop songwriter Kurt Wagner leave the porch from which he had viewed the world for so long and start looking inside himself, his dark meditations on mortality and human frailty matched by a band capable of taking delicacy to delicious new heights.

OH (ohio) continues this expansion of their collective horizons: highlights include the slow-motion soul folk of "Slipped Dissolved and Loose," the shuffling shimmer of the brilliantly titled "National Talk Like a Pirate Day," the somber majesty of "Please Rise" and the intimate sentiment of "Close Up." Melodically stronger than ever, the gentle hook of "A Hold of You," the wordplay of "Please Rise" matched by a heartbreaking simplicity, OH (ohio) also sees their trademark leisurely pace imbued with a notion of beat and movement driven by recent recruit Scott Martin's drumming, most notably on the surprising, almost funky coda of "Popeye."

Unyielding to the vagaries of fashion, working entirely on their own terms and responding purely to their artistic muse, Lambchop have earned the considerable respect they now command.

www.lambchop.net
05/21/10
Visit Pitchfork TV to watch the Lambchop concert film, Live at XX Merge in its entirety for one week only! The film and audio from this incredible event are available exclusively in the Merge store.

To help celebrate Merge’s 20th Anniversary Lambchop showed up in one of their largest lineups in recent memory — 11-strong, including multiple guitars, keyboards, piano, and a horn section. Lambchop performing live is always a powerful proposition, but on this night they started quietly with “I Will Drive Slowly” from their first album (I Hope You’re Sitting Down) and accelerated from there, each song seemingly faster and more intensely played than the last, building to a furious finale of “Up With People” and an epic “Give It.” By the end of their set, everyone in the packed Cats Cradle – band and audience both – was levitating a few inches off the ground…

05/04/10
Spring has sprung and it is time for a new free Merge sampler! Featuring hit songs from the latest albums of Radar Brothers, Spoon, Let’s Wrestle, She & Him and more, visit amazon.com now to download all fourteen free songs with special cover art by Let’s Wrestle’s Wesley Patrick Gonzalez!

As always, you can find new albums from all of these artists and more in our handy Merge store.

Free Merge 2010 digital sampler track listing:
1. Radar Brothers – Horses Warriors (from The Illustrated Garden)
2. Let’s Wrestle – I Won’t Lie to You (from In the Court of the Wrestling Let’s)
3. Destroyer – The Very Modern Dance (from Streethawk: A Seduction)
4. Shout Out Louds – Fall Hard (from Work)
5. Spoon – Written in Reverse (from Transference)
6. Lou Barlow – Don’t Apologize (from Goodnight Unknown)
7. She & Him – Thieves (from Volume Two)
8. Superchunk – Learned to Surf (from Leaves in the Gutter)
9. Alec Bathgate – Glide (from Stroke: Songs for Chris Knox)
10. The Clientele – I Wonder Who We Are (from Bonfires on the Heath)
11. Caribou – Odessa (from Swim)
12. The Clean – In the Dreamlife U Need a Rubber Soul (from Mister Pop)
13. Wye Oak – I Hope You Die (from My Neighbor / My Creator)
14. Lambchop – Give It (from Live at XX Merge)

03/25/10
To help celebrate Merge’s 20th Anniversary, Lambchop showed up in one of their largest lineups in recent memory — 11-strong, including multiple guitars, keyboards, piano, and a horn section. Lambchop performing live is always a powerful proposition, but on this night they started quietly with “I Will Drive Slowly” from their first album (I Hope You’re Sitting Down) and accelerated from there, each song seemingly faster and more intensely played than the last, building to a furious finale of “Up With People” and an epic “Give It.” By the end of their set, everyone in the packed Cat’s Cradle – band and audience both – was levitating a few inches off the ground.

Join the 92Y Tribeca (200 Hudson St.) in New York City on Wednesday, March 31 for a special screening of the concert film, with a Q&A moderated by Anna Thorngate, an assistant editor at the Criterion Collection. The concert film will be preceded by Buttons, a 7 minute short film featuring Kurt Wagner playing a song at Friendly Barber Shop in Carrboro, NC.

12/08/09
On June 11, 2009, musician Chris Knox suffered a life-altering stroke at his home in Grey Lynn, New Zealand. Stroke: Songs for Chris Knox is a celebration of Chris and his music. He was instrumental in bringing New Zealand punk and alternative music to international audiences with Tall Dwarfs, Toy Love, and his solo work. Artists from the U.S. (Jeff Mangum, Yo La Tengo, The Mountain Goats, Bonnie “Prince” Billy, Lambchop, Stephin Merritt, Portastatic, Bill Callahan, Lou Barlow, Jay Reatard), New Zealand (The Bats, The Verlaines, The Chills), and the world over have donated their time and talent covering songs from Knox’s extensive catalog so that all proceeds can go towards assisting Chris with his recovery.

Stroke: Songs for Chris Knox is available for download now from the Merge store and our usual digital outlets. The 2-CD limited-edition release will be available in stores on February 23, but you can pre-order it today and receive the digital download via email after your order is complete!

Visit the fantastic Stroke website for updates on Chris Knox, information on all of the artists who contributed their versions of Knox’s songs, and for previews of many of the tracks—originals and covers.

Tracklisting:
*Tracks are arranged chronologically

Disc 1:
1. Jay Reatard – Pull Down The Shades
2. The Checks – Rebel
3. The Bleeding Allstars – Ain’t It Nice
4. Peter Gutteridge – Don’t Catch Fire
5. The Chills – Luck Or Loveliness
6. David Kilgour – Nothing’s Going To Happen
7. The Crying Wolfs – All My Hollowness To You
8. Stephin Merritt – Beauty
9. Portastatic – Nostalgia’s No Excuse
10. The Mint Chicks – Crush
11. Jay & Sam Clarkson – I’ve Left Memories Behind
12. Sky Green Leopards – Burning Blue
13. Shayne Carter – The Slide
14. Pumice – Grand Mal
15. Hamish Kilgour – Knoxed Out

Disc 2:
1. Boh Runga – Not Given Lightly
2. Red & Zeke (Feat. Bill Doss and Neil Cleary) – Bodies
3. Jeff Mangum – Sign The Dotted Line
4. Bill Callahan – Lapse
5. Genghis Smith – Growth Spurt
6. Yo La Tengo – Coloured
7. AC Newman – Dunno Much About Life But I Know How To Breathe
8. Alec Bathgate – Glide
9. Don McGlashan – Inside Story
10. Sean Donnelly – The Outer Skin
11. Lambchop – What Goes Up
12. The Mountain Goats – Brave
13. The Tokey Tones (and friends) – Round These Walls
14. The Bats – Just Do It
15. Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy – My Only Friend
16. The Finn Family – It’s Love
17. Jordan Luck – Becoming Something Other
18. The Verlaines – Driftwood
19. Lou Barlow – Song Of The Tall Poppy
20. The Nothing – Napping In Lapland
21. Tall Dwarfs – Sunday Son

11/13/09
On November 17th, we will digitally release Lambchop – Live at XX Merge in the Merge store and our usual digital outlets. Only purchases from the Merge store will include a free download of the concert film. Live at XX Merge will also be available as a limited edition CD on November 24th, but those who pre-order the CD from the Merge store may download the audio on November 17th. The concert film is available exclusively in the Merge store.

Live at XX Merge is available in the following formats from the Merge store:

Limited Edition CD + high definition QuickTime download (1280×720) of the concert film – $12.98 (CD preorders before November 24 will also receive an MP3 download code via email on November 17)
MP3 + high definition QuickTime download (1280×720) of the concert film – $12.99 (Available November 17)
MP3 + standard definition QuickTime download (400 × 225) of the concert film – $9.99 (Available November 17)

As Merge fans know, Lambchop has been on the label since 1993, releasing a string of widely varied but consistently brilliant records. But the live Lambchop experience has been somewhat elusive in the U.S.  While the band has toured the gilded theaters of Europe and elsewhere for nearly two decades, the Nashville group has seldom toured their home country. Kurt Wagner has performed solo on a recent Yo La Tengo tour, and Lambchop supported their recent album, (OH) Ohio, as an intimately stripped-down quintet in a couple of short bursts over the last year.  To help celebrate Merge’s 20th Anniversary the band showed up in one of their largest lineups in recent memory — 11-strong, including multiple guitars, keyboards, piano, and a horn section. Lambchop performing live is always a powerful proposition, but on this night they started quietly with “I Will Drive Slowly” from their first album (I Hope You’re Sitting Down) and accelerated from there, each song seemingly faster and more intensely played than the last, building to a furious finale of “Up With People” and an epic “Give It.” By the end of their set, everyone in the packed Cats Cradle – band and audience both – was levitating a few inches off the ground…

Lambchop’s set at XX Merge was professionally recorded and filmed, and is available now for those who missed it, or for those who want to go back again.

Lambchop – Live at XX Merge
Recorded by Nick Peterson
Mixed by Mac McCaughan
FOH Engineer: Mark Luecke

A Show Cobra Film
Directed by Matt Boyd
Produced by Jason Ross

Click here to view the embedded video.

04/08/09
Lambchop will appear on NPR’s World Cafe Wednesday, April 8. While in Philadelphia on their recent tour, Lambchop recorded a session and an interview with World Cafe host, David Dye, which will air on nearly 200 stations nationwide. Fans can find their local station by scrolling to the bottom of the World Cafe website & choosing their state under “Find a Program Broadcast Time.”

World Cafe can also be heard worldwide online at the WXPN/Philadelphia stream on weekdays from 2pm to 4pm EST.

Lambchop’s latest album, OH (ohio), is available in the Merge store on CD and digital download.

11.11.2010 Berlin, Germany Admiralspalast - 20 Years of City Slang Lambchop performing "Is a Woman"
11.22.2010 Katowice, Poland Ars Cameralis Festival Lambchop performing "Is a Woman"
11.24.2010 Zagreb, Croatia Kino SC Lambchop performing "Is a Woman"
11.25.2010 Munich, Germany Amerikahaus Lambchop performing "Is a Woman"
11.27.2010 Copenhagen, Denmark DR Concert House Lambchop performing "Is a Woman"
11.28.2010 Aarhus, Denmark Voxhall Lambchop performing "Is a Woman"
11.29.2010 Malmo, Sweden KB Lambchop performing "Is a Woman"
11.30.2010 Hamburg, Germany Kampnagel Lambchop performing "Is a Woman"
12.01.2010 Hannover, Germany Pavillon Lambchop performing "Is a Woman"
12.02.2010 Nurnberg, Germany Tafelhalle Lambchop performing "Is a Woman"
12.03.2010 Gera, Germany Johannis-Kirche Lambchop performing "Is a Woman"
12.04.2010 Innsbruck, Austria Treibhaus Lambchop performing "Is a Woman"
12.05.2010 Zurich, Sweden El LokAI Lambchop performing "Is a Woman"
A more in-depth version of the LAMBCHOP DISCOGRAPHY can be found at lambchop.info, the Lambchop fan site.


1994
Sorry About the Deformed Heart 3-band cassette w/ Spent & Crop Circle Hoax [cs] (Traumatone, UK) 1994
"Or Thousands Of Prizes" on Rows of Teeth comp. [cd/cs] (Merge) July 25, 1994
"Soaky In The Pooper" b/w "Two Kittens Don't Make A Puppy" [7"] (Merge) July 25, 1994
"My Cliche" b/w "Loretta Lung" [7"] (Sunday Driver) 1994
"It's Impossible" on split w/ Nonpareils and Bartlebees [7"] (Contrast International, Belgium) 1994

I HOPE YOU'RE SITTING DOWN [CD/CS] (MERGE) SEPTEMBER 19, 1994



1995
split 5" w/ Spent (I Sore - 5" club #1) 1995
"I Can Hardly Spell My Name" & "The Scary Caroler" on split w/ Cyod [7"] (Bloodsucker) 1995
"Ovary Eyes" on Notes From The Underground Vol. 2 comp. [cd] (Priority) 1995
"Your Life As A Sequel" b/w "Smuckers" [7"] (Mute America) 1995
split 7" w/ Cyod [7"] (Bloodsucker) 1995

1996
The Man Who Loved Beer [7"/cd5] (City Slang, UK) 1996
"Each With A Bag Of Fries" on Soundtrack To The Bible Belt comp. [cd] (Anhedonia) 1996

HOW I QUIT SMOKING [CD/DBL-LP] (MERGE) JANUARY 30, 1996



HANK [10"/CDEP] (MERGE) JULY 9, 1996


"Playboy, The Shit" on Cowpunks comp. [cd] (Vinyl Junkie, UK) 1996
"Whitey" on Nashville: The Other Side of the Alley--Insurgent Country Vol. 3 comp. [cd] (Bloodshot) 1996

1997
"The Militant" [remixed by Mark Robinson] on MRG100 comp. [cd] (Merge) April 22, 1997
"Gloria Leonard" on Never Kept A Diary comp. [cd] (Motorcoat) 1997
"Whitey" b/w "Playboy, the Shit" [7"] (Merge) May 27, 1997
"Cigaretiquette" b/w "Mr. Crabby" [7"] (Merge) July 8, 1997

THRILLER [CD] (MERGE) SEPTEMBER 23, 1997



1998
"La Distacia Desde Ella Hasta Alli" b/w "?Que Otra Cosa Podria Ser?" [7"] (Elefant, Spain) 1998
"The Petrified Florist" on Loose: New Sounds of the Old West comp. [cd] (Vinyl Junkie, UK) 1998
"Your Sucking Funny Day" [cd5] (City Slang, UK) 1998
"Gimme Your Love (Love Song)" [12"] (City Slang/For Us, UK) 1998

WHAT ANOTHER MAN SPILLS [CD] (MERGE) SEPTEMBER 8, 1998


"Christmas Time is Here" [cd5] (self released) December, 1998

1999
"Oh What a Disappointment," "Up With People," and "N.O." (all recorded live) on De Avonden comp. [cd] (VPRO radio, Belgium) 1999
"Up With People (live)" on Oh, Merge comp. [cd] (Merge) July 6, 1999
"Up With People" on split w/ Dump [7"] (Third Gear) September, 1999

2000

NIXON [CD] (MERGE) FEBRUARY 8, 2000


"Beyond Belief" on Loose: New Sounds of the Old West comp. [cd] (Vinyl Junkie, UK) February 21, 2000
Up With People [12"/7"/cd5] (City Slang, UK) May, 2000
"Up With People (Zero 7 Reprise Mix)" on Grand Slang 1990-2000 comp. [cd] (City Slang, UK) 2000
"Why Won't You Stay" on Come On Beautiful: A Tributer To American Music Club comp. [cd] (Glitterhouse/BiGNiGHT) 2000
"Up With People (Zero 7 Reprise Mix)" on Solar Spectrum 2 comp. [cd] (Obsessive, UK) 2000
"Soaky In The Pooper" on Rough Trade Shops 25 Years Compilation comp. [cd] (Rough Trade Shops, UK) 2000
The Queens Royal Trimma [cdep] (City Slang, UK) 2000

2001
"Christmas Time Is Here" on A Working Stiff Christmas: 15 Years at Springwater comp. [cd/lp] (Tiny Rig) January, 2001
"Up With People" on Nova Tunes, Vol. 2 comp. [cd] (Wagram) April 1, 2001
Treasure Chest of the Enemy Version 1 [cdep] (self-released) June, 2001 "The Fade Away Jumper" on Pop Volume #2 comp. [cd] (Popnews.com, France) June 11, 2001
"Life's Little Tragedy" on Back To Mine Vol. 7: A Morcheeba compilation [cd] (Ultra) September 4, 2001

TOOLS IN THE DRYER [CD/LIMITED EDITION DBL-CD] (MERGE) SEPTEMBER 18, 2001


"Magnificent Obsession" on Are You Ready For The Country? comp. [dbl-cd] (Warner Bros.) 2001
"Beyond Belief" on Beyond Nashville: The Twisted Heart of Country Music comp. [dbl-cd] (Manteca) October 30, 2001
"Butcher Boy" and "I Dream Of Jeannie" (live; Kurt Wagner solo) on Live and Direct comp. [cd] (Spunk/2SER/Festival Mushroom) 2001

2002
"Backstreet Girl" on UNCUT Magazine: Gimme Shelter: 16 Amazing Covers of Classic Songs by The Rolling Stones Volume 2 comp. [cd] (RSC) January, 2002
"Art Lover" on This is Where I Belong: Songs of Ray Davies and the Kinks comp. [cd] (Praxis) February, 2002
"Up With People (Zero 7 Reprise Mix)" on Karma Collection comp. [dbl-cd] (Ministry Of Sound, UK) 2002
"Flub" and "Gusher" on Magic! Magazine comp. [cd] (Magic!, France) 2002
Treasure Chest of the Enemy Version 2 [cdep] (self-released) February, 2002

IS A WOMAN [CD] (MERGE) FEBRUARY 19, 2002

AW CMON [CD] (MERGE) FEBRUARY 17, 2004
NO YOU CMON [CD] (MERGE) FEBRUARY 17, 2004


Grumpus


from Nixon
DOWNLOAD 

Low Ambition


from No, You C'mon
DOWNLOAD 

Steve McQueen


from Aw C'mon
DOWNLOAD 

The Daily Growl


from Is a Woman
DOWNLOAD 

Prepared


from CoLAB
DOWNLOAD 

Slipped Dissolved and Loosed


from OH (ohio)
DOWNLOAD 

Paperback Bible


from Damaged
DOWNLOAD 
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On Tour

Arcade Fire [+]

September
02 Bologna Arena Parco Nord
10 Mexico City Palacio de los Deportes
22 St. Paul, MN Roy Wilkins Auditorium
23 Winnipeg, MB MTS Centre
25 Saskatoon Credit Union Centre
[see all]

Lou Barlow [+]

September
02 Cambridge, MA Middle East
03 Philadelphia, PA Johnny Brenda's
04 Hoboken, NJ Maxwell's

Richard Buckner [+]

September
07 Charlottesville, VA The Southern
08 Asheville, NC The Grey Eagle
09 Columbia, SC Columbia Museum of Art
10 Raleigh, NC Hopscotch Music Festival
11 Charlotte, NC Evening Muse
[see all]

Caribou [+]

September
14 Guelph, ON Ebar
15 Ottawa, ON Babylon
16 Montreal, QC Le National
17 Toronto, ON The Drake
17 Toronto, ON Phoenix Theatre
[see all]

The Clean [+]

September
28 New York, NY Bowery Ballroom
29 Hoboken, NJ Maxwell's
30 Chicago, IL Bottom Lounge
October
02 Lawrence, KS Granada Theater - SCION Festival
04 San Francisco, CA The Independent
[see all]

The Clientele [+]

September
06 Seattle, WA Bumbershoot
07 Portland, OR Doug Fir
09 Oakland, CA New Parish
10 San Francisco, CA Independent
11 Los Angeles, CA Echoplex
[see all]

Fucked Up [+]

September
05 Monticello, NY All Tomorrow's Parties
09 Washington, DC Rock n' Roll Hotel
10 Raleigh, NC Hopscotch Festival
11 Atlanta, GA The Drunken Unicorn
12 Charlotte, NC Amos Southend
[see all]

Lambchop [+]

November
11 Berlin Admiralspalast - 20 Years of City Slang
22 Katowice Ars Cameralis Festival
24 Zagreb Kino SC
25 Munich Amerikahaus
27 Copenhagen DR Concert House
[see all]

Let's Wrestle [+]

September
04 Los Angeles, CA FYF Fest
05 Santa Barbara, CA Club Mercy Presents
06 San Francisco, CA Great American Music Hall
08 Seattle, WA Neumo's
09 Vancouver, BC Rickshaw Theatre
[see all]

The Love Language [+]

September
03 Atlanta, GA The Earl
03 Atlanta, GA Criminal Records
04 Charlotte, NC Visulite Theatre
09 Winston Salem, NC Earshot Records
09 Winston Salem, NC Krankies
[see all]

Conor Oberst [+]

September
28 Pioneertown, CA Pappy & Harriets
30 Santa Barbara, CA Soho in SB
October
01 Big Sur, CA Fernwood
02 San Francisco, CA Hardly Strictly Bluegrass

Polvo [+]

November
05 Baton Rouge, LA Spanish Moon
06 Houston, TX Fitzgerald's Downstairs
07 Austin, TX Fun Fun Fun Fest at Waterloo

Radar Bros. [+]

September
24 Montreal, QC Le National
25 Boston, MA Royale
27 New York, NY Bowery Ballroom
28 New York, NY Bowery Ballroom
October
01 Philadelphia, PA Trocadero Theatre
[see all]

The Rosebuds [+]

September
10 Raleigh, NC Hopscotch Festival

Shark Quest [+]

October
09 Carrboro, NC Carrboro ArtsCenter

She & Him [+]

September
05 Los Angeles, CA Paramount Studios
October
17 San Francisco, CA Treasure Island
22 Portland, OR Schnitzer Hall
23 Seattle, WA City Arts Music Festival - 5th Avenue Theatre
24 Vancouver, BC The Orpheum

Spoon [+]

September
11 Harrisburg, PA The Forum
12 Clark, NJ Oak Ridge Park
13 Brooklyn, NY Music Hall of Williamsburg
30 Los Angeles, CA Hollywood Palladium
October
01 San Diego, CA Soma
[see all]

Superchunk [+]

September
16 Durham, NC The Nasher Museum of Art
17 Washington 9:30 Club
18 New York, NY Bowery Ballroom
19 Brooklyn, NY Music Hall of Williamsburg
21 Boston, MA Royale
[see all]

Teenage Fanclub [+]

September
22 Toronto, ON The Legendary Horseshoe Tavern
23 Toronto, ON The Legendary Horseshoe Tavern
24 Montreal, QC Le National
25 Boston, MA Royale
27 New York, NY Bowery Ballroom
[see all]

Telekinesis [+]

September
02 Chicago, IL Lincoln Hall
03 Detroit, MI Magic Stick
04 Toronto, ON El Mocambo
06 Montreal, QC Casa Del Popolo
07 Cambridge, MA TT The Bear's
[see all]

Versus [+]

September
21 Boston, MA Royale
22 Philadelphia, PA Trocadero Theatre

Wye Oak [+]

September
02 Cambridge, MA Middle East
03 Philadelphia, PA Johnny Brenda's
04 Hoboken, NJ Maxwell's
October
04 Lawrence, KS Bottleneck
05 Columbia, MO The Blue Note
[see all]
see all tour dates

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